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Chapter 19.28 Revised Code of Washington

 

     

 

What you will learn in Lesson 4

• Who establishes electrical license categories and fees.

• Who gives the examinations for licenses

• The rules for the relationship between the electrical contractor and  the master electrician or electrical administrator

• Duties of electrical administrator or master electrician

• Actions that can be taken against a bond

• Requirement for local cities and towns

• Types of electrical work exempt from contractor licensing requirements

RCW 19.28.051
Examinations -- Fees.

1. It shall be the purpose and function of the board to establish, in addition to a general electrical contractors' license, such classifications of specialty electrical contractors' licenses as it deems appropriate with regard to individual sections pertaining to state adopted codes in this chapter.
2. In addition, it shall be the purpose and function of the board to establish and administer written examinations for general electrical administrators' certificates and the various specialty electrical administrators' certificates.
   • Examinations shall be designed to reasonably insure that general and specialty electrical administrators' certificate holders are competent to engage in and supervise the work covered by this statute and their respective licenses.
3. The examinations shall include questions from the following categories to assure proper safety and protection for the general public:
   • Safety
   • State electrical code
   • Electrical theory
4. The department with the consent of the board shall be permitted to enter into a contract with a professional testing agency to develop, administer, and score these examinations.
5. The fee for the examination may be set by the department in its contract with the professional testing agency. The department may direct that the applicant pay the fee to the professional testing agency.
6. The fee shall cover but not exceed the costs of preparing and administering the examination.
7. It shall be the further purpose and function of this board to advise the director as to the need of additional electrical inspectors and compliance officers to be utilized by the director on either a full-time or part-time employment basis and to carry out the duties enumerated in RCW 19.28.161 through 19.28.271 as well as generally advise the department on all matters relative to RCW 19.28.161 through 19.28.271.

RCW 19.28.061
Electrical contractors -- Designee of firm to take master electrician or administrator's examination -- Administrator's certificate--Fee -- Certificate duration, denial, renewal, nontransferable -- Master electrician or administrator's duties.

(1) Each applicant for an electrical contractor's license, other than an individual, shall designate a supervisory employee or member of the firm to take the required master electrician's or administrator's examination. Effective July 1, 1987, a supervisory employee designated as the electrical contractor's master electrician or administrator shall be a full-time supervisory employee. This person shall be designated as master electrician or administrator under the license. No person may concurrently qualify as master electrician or administrator for more than one contractor. If the relationship of the master electrician or administrator with the electrical contractor is terminated, the contractor's license is void within ninety days unless another master electrician or administrator is qualified by the board. However, if the master electrician or administrator dies or is otherwise incapacitated, the contractor's license is void within one hundred eighty days unless another master electrician or administrator is qualified by the board. The contractor must notify the department in writing within ten days if the master electrician's or administrator's relationship with the contractor terminates due to the master electrician's or administrator's death or incapacitation.

     (2) The department must issue an administrator's certificate to all applicants who have passed the examination as provided in RCW 19.28.051 and this section, and who have complied with the rules adopted under this chapter. The administrator's certificate must bear the date of issuance, expires on the holder's birthday, and is nontransferable. The certificate must be renewed every three years, upon application, on or before the holder's birthday.

     (a) If the certificate holder demonstrates to the department that he or she has satisfactorily completed an annual eight-hour continuing education course, the certificate may be renewed by appropriate application without examination unless the certificate has been revoked, suspended, or not renewed within ninety days after the expiration date.

     (b) The contents and requirements for satisfactory completion of the continuing education course must be determined by the director and approved by the board.

     (c) The department must accept proof of a certificate holder's satisfactory completion of a continuing education course offered in another state as meeting the requirements for maintaining a current Washington state certificate if the department is satisfied the course is comparable in nature to that required in Washington state for maintaining a current certificate.

     (3) A fee must be assessed for each administrator's certificate and for each renewal. An individual holding more than one administrator's certificate under this chapter is not required to pay fees for more than one certificate. The department must set the fees by rule for issuance and renewal of a certificate. The fees must cover, but not exceed, the costs of issuing the certificates and of administering and enforcing the administrator certification requirements of this chapter.

     (4) The department may deny an application for an administrator's certificate for up to two years if the applicant's previous administrator's certificate has been revoked for a serious violation and all appeals concerning the revocation have been exhausted. For the purposes of this section only, a serious violation is a violation that presents imminent danger to the public. The certificate may be renewed for a three-year period without examination by appropriate application unless the certificate has been revoked, suspended, or not renewed within ninety days after the expiration date. If the certificate is not renewed before the expiration date, the individual shall pay twice the usual fee. A person may take the administrator's examination as many times as necessary to pass without limit.

    

Duties of Master Electrician or Electrical Administrator

(5) The designated master electrician or administrator shall:

         (a) Be a member of the firm or a supervisory employee and shall be available during working hours to carry out the duties of an administrator under this section;

         (b) Ensure that all electrical work complies with the electrical installation laws and rules of the state;

         (c) Ensure that the proper electrical safety procedures are used;

         (d) Ensure that all electrical labels, permits, and licenses required to perform electrical work are used;

        (e) See that corrective notices issued by an inspecting authority are complied with; and

        (f) Notify the department in writing within ten days if the master electrician or administrator terminates the relationship with the electrical contractor.

  (6) The department shall not by rule change the administrator's duties under subsection (5) of this section.

RCW 19.28.071
Licensee's bond -- Action on -- Priorities -- Cash deposit, payment from.

Any person, firm, or corporation sustaining any damage or injury by reason of the principal's breach of the conditions of the bond required under RCW 19.28.041 may bring an action against the surety named therein, joining in the action the principal named in the bond; the action shall be brought in the superior court of any county in which the principal on the bond resides or transacts business, or in the county in which the work was performed as a result of which the breach is alleged to have occurred; the action shall be maintained and prosecuted as other civil actions.

Claims or actions against the surety on the bond shall be paid in full in the following order of priority:

(1) Labor, including employee benefits,

(2) Materials and equipment used upon such work,

(3) Taxes and contributions due to the state,

(4) damages sustained by any person, firm or corporation due to the failure of the principal to make the installation in accordance with the provisions of chapter 19.28 RCW, or any ordinance, building code, or regulation applicable thereto: PROVIDED, That the total liability of the surety on any bond shall not exceed the sum of four thousand dollars and the surety on the bond shall not be liable for monetary penalties; and any action shall be brought within one year from the completion of the work in the performance of which the breach is alleged to have occurred. The surety shall mail a conformed copy of the judgment against the bond to the department within seven days.

     In the event that a cash or securities deposit has been made in lieu of the surety bond, and in the event of a judgment being entered against such depositor and deposit, the director shall upon receipt of a certified copy of a final judgment, pay said judgment from such deposit.

RCW 19.28.081
Actions -- Local permits -- Proof of licensure.

No person, firm or corporation engaging in, conducting or carrying on the business of installing wires or equipment to convey electric current, or installing apparatus to be operated by said current, shall be entitled to commence or maintain any suit or action in any court of this state pertaining to any such work or business, without alleging and proving that such person, firm or corporation held, at the time of commencing and performing such work, an unexpired, unrevoked and unsuspended license issued under the provisions of this chapter;

and no city or town requiring by ordinance or regulation a permit for inspection or installation of such electrical work, shall issue such permit to any person, firm or corporation not holding such license.

RCW 19.28.091
Licensing -- Exemptions.

Utilities are Exempt

(1) No license under the provision of this chapter shall be required from any utility or any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity employed by a utility because of work in connection with the installation, repair, or maintenance of lines, wires, apparatus, or equipment owned by or under the control of a utility and used for transmission or distribution of electricity from the source of supply to the point of contact at the premises and/or property to be supplied and service connections and meters and other apparatus or appliances used in the measurement of the consumption of electricity by the customer.

     (2) No license under the provisions of this chapter shall be required from any utility because of work in connection with the installation, repair, or maintenance of the following:

     (a) Lines, wires, apparatus, or equipment used in the lighting of streets, alleys, ways, or public areas or squares;

     (b) Lines, wires, apparatus, or equipment owned by a commercial, industrial, or public institution customer that are an integral part of a transmission or distribution system, either overhead or underground, providing service to such customer and located outside the building or structure: PROVIDED, That a utility does not initiate the sale of services to perform such work;

     (c) Lines and wires, together with ancillary apparatus, and equipment, owned by a customer that is an independent power producer who has entered into an agreement for the sale of electricity to a utility and that are used in transmitting electricity from an electrical generating unit located on premises used by such customer to the point of interconnection with the utility's system.

     (3) Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity licensed under RCW 19.28.041 may enter into a contract with a utility for the performance of work under subsection (2) of this section.

 Work on Motor Vehicle Electrical Systems Exempt   

    (4) No license under the provisions of this chapter shall be required from any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity because of the work of installing and repairing ignition or lighting systems for motor vehicles.

     (5) No license under the provisions of this chapter shall be required from any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity because of work in connection with the installation, repair, or maintenance of wires and equipment, and installations thereof, exempted in RCW 19.28.010.

    Work on Premanufactured Systems May be Exempt

(6) The department may by rule exempt from licensing requirements under this chapter work performed on premanufactured electric power generation equipment assemblies and control gear involving the testing, repair, modification, maintenance, or installation of components internal to the power generation equipment, the control gear, or the transfer switch.

     Work for Non Profits Exempt

(7) This chapter does not require an electrical contractor license if: (a) An appropriately certified electrician or a properly supervised certified electrical trainee is performing the installation, repair, or maintenance of wires and equipment for a nonprofit corporation that holds a current tax exempt status as provided under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 501(c)(3) or a nonprofit religious organization; (b) the certified electrician or certified electrical trainee is not compensated for the electrical work; and (c) the value of the electrical work does not exceed thirty thousand dollars.

     Some Plumbing Work Exempt

(8) An entity that currently holds a valid specialty or general plumbing contractor's registration under chapter 18.27 RCW may employ a certified plumber, a certified residential plumber, or a plumber trainee meeting the requirements of chapter 18.106 RCW to perform electrical work that is incidentally, directly, and immediately appropriate to the like-in-kind replacement of a household appliance or other small household utilization equipment that requires limited electric power and limited waste and/or water connections. A plumber trainee must be supervised by a certified plumber or a certified residential plumber while performing electrical work. The electrical work is subject to the permitting and inspection requirements of this chapter.

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